The US has ruled out offering any sanctions relief to Russia in order to clinch its support for an agreement to revive the 2015 nuclear accord with Iran, rebuffing a last-minute demand from Moscow.
A state department spokesperson on Sunday told the Financial Times that the new economic sanctions imposed on Russia in response to its invasion of Ukraine were “unrelated” to the Iran deal and “should not have any impact on its implementation”.
“The United States has no intention of offering Russia anything new or specific as it relates to these sanctions, nor is anything new required to successfully reach an agreement on a mutual return to full implementation of the [nuclear deal with Iran],” the state department spokesperson added.
Tehran and global powers have been nearing an agreement to revive the 2015 nuclear agreement that would lead to Iran radically reversing its nuclear program in return for the US rejoining the accord and lifting many sanctions on the Islamic republic.
But the last stretch of the negotiations has coincided with Russia’s attack on Ukraine and the massive economic and financial sanctions imposed by the west on Moscow due to the war. Russia, which is a signatory to the accord and an important player in the EU-mediated Iran talks in Vienna, last week demanded guarantees that its trade with the republic would be protected from sanctions as part of any deal.